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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Linda Broday: A Cowboy's Life on the Frontier

For
many of us, if you're like me, we’re unsure about the cowboy’s job on an early day ranch other than
the obvious of working the cattle. Years ago, I wanted to learn about the other chores involved because I wanted my cowboy to be realistic. So I went looking......

The
cowboy’s job began just as the first rays of dawn were breaking and he didn’t
crawl out of saddle until after dark. The days were long and the work was hard.
But the cowboy loved his life. It was in his blood. He didn’t “work” for the
ranch; he “rode for the brand” and he was very loyal to the animals entrusted
in his care and to the one who employed him.

But
let’s get back to daily life.

Upon
“rolling out” of the sack, a few of the men would saddle their mounts and round
up the scattered band of ponies that had wandered near and far, grazing during
the night and herd them into the corral while the cook set about making breakfast.
The outfit would fill their bellies then carry their saddles and bridles to the
corral and mount up. (On cold days the compassionate cowboy would warm the bit
for a second before putting it in the horse’s mouth. I’m sure it was
appreciated.) Once mounted, the wrangler would get to the business of checking
the herds and looking for signs of trouble. The cattle required constant care
and vigilance.

Daily
chores in addition to riding herd on the cattle:

Keeping
horses shod and in good physical shape

Gentling
horses

Branding
Cattle

Repairing
saddles and wagons

Mending
ropes and harnesses

Cleaning
their guns

Skinning
carcasses of any cattle that died and drying hides

Riding
fence and repairing any downed ones

In
general, doing whatever the foreman asked, be it painting and fixing up or
putting out bait to catch or kill any predators that threatened the stock.

Simply
put, when he was on the time clock, the cowboy was at the beck and call of his
employer.

Life
was much easier in warm weather. Spring and fall saw roundups and trail drives.
Once the cattle drives were a thing of the past sometime in the 1880’s, the
cowboys drove cows to the nearest railroad shipping point. A note of interest:
The biggest year for Texas cattle drives was 1871 when more than 700,000 cattle
were driven up the trails from Texas.

In
the mountainous areas, the saddle wranglers would herd the cattle twice a year
to summer or winter ranges for better grazing. They used the high country in
summer because it was normally a little cooler. The low country was preferred
in winter as it wasn’t usually as cold. Of course, on the plains I’m sure they
had no need to shift the herds since the land was flat.

Part
of the cowboys’ duties was to inspect the herds to see if they had enough food
and water. They also directed the cattle away from any patches of known loco
weed. This was called “outriding.” In addition, the outriders “rode sign” to
determine if any cattle had strayed too far from the herd and if so to turn
them back. They looked for bogged down steers or horses, laid traps for coyotes
and wolves, and kept their eyes open for signs of rustling. And the outriders
“blabbed young calves that were too old to be nursing their mothers. This
involved clipping a board onto the calf’s nose. It allowed the animal to graze
but not to nurse. Usually, this was only done in the case of a lusty calf with
an emaciated mother. It allowed the mother to gain weight.

Outriders
also kept on the lookout for diseased or injured animals. When they found any,
the cowboy either inspected and treated the animal or destroyed it.

Mother
Nature brought her own set of problems. Lightning and prairie fires were the
most feared. But there were also gullywashers that could trap scores of cattle
in flash floods; tornadoes and cyclones; and drought and freezing temperatures
that could devastate entire herds. The bottom line was protecting and saving
the cattle. They were money on the hoof.

Winter
brought some of the cowboys’ hardest work. They lived in “line camps” which
were outpost cabins situated on the far reaches of the ranch. And the punchers
who wintered there were called line riders. The difference in line riders and
outriders was the fact that line riders had a specific area to patrol whereas
outriders roamed everywhere. The line rider’s main job was looking after their
herd. They made sure the cattle had food and water and protected them from
hungry coyotes and wolves. Whatever it took to get the herd through the
freezing winter months that’s what they did. It was lonely boring work for the
line rider and they were always grateful for springtime when they could rejoin
their fellow cow punchers.

To
sum it up, the cowboys’ job consisted of doing whatever they could to make the
ranch run smoothly and turn a profit.

According
to the book “The Cowboy” by Philip Ashton Rollins (which is excellent by the way,) in the late 1800’s top hands
earned $40.00 a month. Lesser hands were paid $25.00 and upward. Foremen earned
$10 to $40 over and above what the top hands drew. And they were all given free
room and board. That wasn’t much money for what was expected of them.

I’m
curious about why we think the cowboys’ life was and still is so glamorous, why
we’re attracted to men who ply that trade. Or is it simply that it’s hard
dangerous work so the men have to be tough as nails to survive on the
unforgiving land. We want them to dig in their heels and face life head on no matter the challenges. And the women too. I’d like to
hear your thoughts.

To add to the knight motif, here is the url to an excellent article that delves into the 'knight' and 'cowboy' connection. The article is titled: The Cultural Myth of the Cowboy, or, How the West Was Won

It's also interesting to me that the 'golden age' of the American cowboy lasted from just after the American Civil war to around 1900 (give or take). When you think about it, thirty some years is not very long to have the era of the Old West leave such a strong and lasting legacy in American history.

Linda, what an informative post. I guess I just never thought about every single thing that was expected of a cowboy--we tend to just think of lumping it all together as "out there with the cows" and that's it. But they had to have a lot of knowledge, innate and learned, to be able to survive.

I grew up in Oklahoma, and my immediate family was not a "rodeo" family or even a country one--I mean, we didn't live on a farm or raise cows on a ranch or anything like that, but I think that feeling of being part of the land, and learning from it, and living with it, just permeates from generation to generation, and so I guess a lot of the "cowboy ways" from before are passed down, too. (I did have a LOT of ancestors who were cowboys.)

Cheryl, I'm glad you found this interesting. The laundry list of chores was quite informative. The bottom line was that the cowboy was expected to do whatever was asked of him, be it big or small. He worked in unison with the rancher to assure the ranch worked the very best it could. And it was to the cowboy's best interest. If he didn't make the rancher any money he was out of a job.

Jim Griffin, one of our Painted Pony Books authors, is writing a series about a young teen boy whose family was killed by raiders, and he's taken in by the Texas Rangers as a provisional Ranger. I love the way Jim goes about having the other Rangers teach Nate about what's expected and has to be done in daily live (he was not only the youngest one of the bunch, but also hasn't lived in Texas very long--his family came to TX from Delaware.) It interesting to learn, but also fun to watch his learning process, too. Lots of things we just don't think of today that had to be done then, and simple things could get you killed if you didn't know the right way to go about doing them.Cheryl

Hi Agnes! Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you enjoyed my post. It's great stuff for anyone who wonders what all the cowboy had to do in the running of the ranch. Lots and lots of chores to do. Their work was, and still is, unending. They got up well before daylight and worked until after dark, 7 days a week come rain or shine. It would be a hard life. Certainly nothing romantic about it. Have a good day.

Very interesting post. I think we are still attracted to the cowboy way of life for many reasons. Being out in nature, riding horses, and there was a certain sense of freedom in how they went about their job. It's a shame that the work ethic of the cowboy is pretty much been genetically removed from the youth of today.

Dang, that's a job as bad as Deadliest Catch. Any man that tough deserves a good woman. Raising my hand to volunteer.That part about doing whatever the boss says to do sticks with just about every job unless you ARE the boss. Great post, Linda. I have no idea how to do any of those jobs, and I sure ain't volunteerin' to learn either. I'd be broke down within the first hour.

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